March 22, 2016
Nanango’s inaugural Healthy Life Expo was the hot South Burnett event to attend at the weekend … literally.
Pioneer Park was filled with more than 120 stalls for visitors to explore, as well as plenty of healthy activities and promotions by local community groups.
But the unseasonally hot weather took everyone by surprise, as did a storm in the afternoon which tempted some stallholders to pack up earlier than the planned 4:00pm closing time.
Organiser Tracy Ahlquist chalked up these minor misadventures as “a learning experience” for the next Healthy Life Expo.
The aim of the event was to promote all aspects of health and wellness, from yoga and aromatherapy through to healthy eating, organic foods and self-sufficiency.
The Expo also gave many Nanango groups the opportunity to raise awareness about their activities and recruit new members.
However, some stallholders were a tad confused by the “expo” concept.
“A couple of our stallholders wanted to pull out around noon because that’s what they do at the markets,” Tracy said.
“We had to explain they were at an Expo and the aim was to educate people as well as sell products.”
Tracy put in six months hard work to bring the event together.
She said she was confident the Expo filled a niche that wasn’t currently being satisfied in the region.
The organising committee will now meet for a debrief and consider ways to do things even better next time.
“One issue we realised after everything was set up was that we would probably have benefited from having a few more signs,” Tracy said.
“Pioneer Park is out of sight from the main road. So despite all the advertising we did, we still had a few people telling us they didn’t know the Expo was on and had only stumbled on it by accident.”
Another idea they might consider is shifting the event to a cooler time of the year.
“The heat, followed by the afternoon storm, is something we really didn’t anticipate,” Tracy said.
“Maybe the cooler months would be a better time in future.”
[Photos: Clive Lowe Photography]
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Firstly I would like to thank each and every exhibitor for their massive contribution to making this auspicious day one to remember. 120 exhibitors made it to the paddock, which is a testimony to the community support driving the Expo The day was about connecting the community to what was available in the Nanango District, where to get help for mind body spirit well-being, what interest groups were around, and to listen to a bevy of wonderful musicians, and speakers. Demonstrations of Tai chi, yoga and meditation were well received. Talking with various folk throughout the day it seems to be the first time a health & well-being Expo has included interest and support groups. There seem to be some astonishment that we had so many on offer here in Nanango. In addition the religeous denominations were well represented. Pastor Nuku Piukala from the Wesleyan Methodist Church who operates the Nanango Food Bank, opened the day with a prayer and blessing. That’s what we wanted to achieve, community knowledge and connection, a place where people could come together. I believe we achieved that successfully through the Nanango Healthy Life Expo. With thanks to everyone who helped make it so. Namaste, Tracy Ahlquist, Expo Organizing Team